Page 49 of Broken Hearts

“Watch for the peak,” Nate says, and I have no idea what that means, and as if he can read my thoughts, he adds, “It’s the highest point of the wave before you see the crest, the white stuff. You want to grab the wave right before it peaks.”

“I don’t…”

“I’ll tell you.”

We wait for a few seconds, my heart slamming hard, filling my ears with the sound, and then Nate calls out, “Paddle, Sage!”

And I do, thinking my arms couldn’t possibly do another round of paddling, but they do, not failing me in the least.

“Now stand up!” he yells, and even though I have no idea what the hell I’m doing, I push myself off the board and suddenly I’m standing.

Holy shit.

I’m doing it. I’m surfing, the wave slowing down, taking me into the shore, but I have no idea what to do when the wave dies.

“What now?” I scream, the board coming to a stop and sweeping itself out from under me. My ass hits the water, bouncing off the sand on the bottom of the shallow shore.

Popping up, I can see Nate laughing at me as I push the loose, wet hair from my face.

“Paddle back out!” he calls to me, and with a massive smile on my face, I meet him where we started.

“I did it,” I say, that nervous excitement apparent in my voice.

“You did. Natural talent,” he says.

“Beginner’s luck.”

“C’mere.” Nate reaches across to me, his fingers deftly sliding to the back of my neck, he pulls me to him, kissing me.

The second mylips touch hers, Sage lets out a sexy as fuck groan that has my grip on the back of her neck tightening.

Doesn’t seem to matter that we constantly seem to fight or that we shouldn’t be doing this because I’m powerless to stop it. I want her. Want her in a way I’ve never wanted anyone. Even if it does freak the hell out of me.

Sage’s tongue traces along my bottom lip and this time it’s me groaning as I hold her close, deepening the kiss. Our boards are bobbing together, rocking in the swell as we sit out here and kiss for what feels like forever.

Eventually I pull back, smiling as Sage blinks her eyes open. “Wanna try again?” I ask.

I’m not just asking about surfing and I’m pretty sure Sage knows this as she hits me with a soft smile and says, “Yeah.”

Reluctantly, I let her go, spinning her board around as I give her instructions again on what to look for and how to catch the best wave. And to her credit, she keeps trying, even though she falls more often than she stands.

She’s clearly a beginner, but I kind of think there might be some of Mitch’s talent running through her veins because she’s doing better than I ever did when I first got taught.

“You wanna take a break?” I ask as she paddles out to me again, her breathing hard.

“I mean, yeah, but also no,” she says, sucking in a deep breath.

Laughing, I reach over and squeeze her thigh. “Addicted already, huh?” Sage shrugs, but she’s smiling. “Come on, let’s catch one more and then head in for a break.”

We ride the next wave together, me laughing at the look of extreme concentration on Sage’s face. She manages to stand this time and rides the wave to the shore, actually hopping off her surfboard, as opposed to getting dumped like she usually does.

“Nice,” I say, grinning as we pick up our boards and head to the shore.

We drop the boards, and I smile at how Sage puts hers down on the sand fin up like I told her to. As I lay out the towels, she pulls off the rash guard and I swallow hard at the view that’s now standing in front of me. The ocean isn’t cold, but it still affects her like it is, her nipples peaking under the tiny triangles of her bikini.

Clearing my throat, I turn and sit on my towel, resting my elbows on my knees as I stare out at the water. Sage mirrors my position, pulling her hair loose and running her fingers through it.

“Is this where Mitch taught you to surf?” she asks.

---